Sock supporter



E. sNEAD socx sUPPoRTER Filed Jan. 20, 1947 Patented Aug. 3Q, 1949 ATENT OFJIEILCE ,sock gsUePeRirEn Earrsneaa, Milwaukee,Wis..

,Application January 20, ldflSeriaLNnif 11 claim. (cu2-'24m i "My )present invention relates -generally ,to improvements intheart .df supportingilexible leg orankle coverings, en'flrf'slates more particularly to improvements in .the construction .and .utilization of socksupDQrters.

A primary ,object .,Q'f. the ,present .invention is to provide .a newan'd useful improved type ,of sock supporter wlfic'h is simple 1in -lconstruction and highly .elicient 'in use, and which may 'he utilizedlby menwomen and childrenlinlieueoi the usual -elastic galler.

It has Lheretoiore been common practice to utilize lasticban'ds or the like to maintain socks or stockings in --kprdper vprcteptiue -pcsition on the wearers legs and to prevent against slipping. Theseelas'ticfbarrds or gartersfaregin some cases, formed at the top and as an integral `part of the sock, and 'othericasesntilcy vareprovided as separate devices with means cooperating with the Qpensock end for gripping the same. "The bands are adapted 'to' encircle the leg .f .the wearer tightlyA soas to -support thesock or .stocking thereon, thereby creating 1a constant preslsure entirely 'about the 'Wearers `leg. This pressure, in addition to the discomfort caused to the wearer, seriously impedes the blood circulation and is particularly irritating during warm weather.

It is therefore a more specific object of this invention to provide an improved sock support which obviates the disadvantages attendant prior art garters and the like and wherein no pressure is placed upon the leg of the wearer.

Another speciiic object oi the invention is to provide an improved sock supporter which does not require encirclement of the Wears leg and consequently does not interfere with blood circulaton.

Another specic object of my invention is to provide an improved supporting device which may be readily ap-plied to and removed from a foot and leg covering such as a sock or stocking.

A further specic object of the present invention is to provide an improved sock supporter which comprises an elongated supporting member, preferably formed of a resilient yet relatively stiff material, detachably secured at one end to an upper portion of a sock and coacting at its other end with an abutment near the heel of the sock.

An additional specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved and novel sock supporter which is simple in construction, highly eicient and comfortable in use, and which Y "2 n Y maybe `readily A.mamuactured ein llarge -quanttiesvccf available materials aand, at :low `zcost. Y

These and other specific obiectslfandadvantages of ithepresentfinnention -vvi1l-herapparent from N,the ,following v.detailedldesc'zription.

5A clear conception of Ithesel/eral .features ,eonf stituting .my ,present improvement and of -the mode of constructing ,anchqf ,utilizirig .sock Y sup-V porters built ,in accordance vfwith .the invention may be :hadloy referring ftO :the .dravvingaccOmpanying .and forming aflpartgoi .this .specification wherein like Treference .characters .designate the same .nr ,similar partsiin ,theseveral views.

Eig'. .l -is aside view .oi asock rwith one ci .the improyedsupporters applied itheretc, ,a portion of `the ,sock being breken,u away to .reveal `internal structure; n .l

Fig. 2 :is a ^side view `ci one f ,the .improved supporting elements; A

-Eig 3 .is ,an enlarged -section through .a portion '.cffthesockand the attaching enfd .of Y.the supporter, ,taken .alnng theline 3423 o'i F.ig. ,1; an'd" Y Y Fig is asimilarlyfenlarged sentinn throughaf portion ofthe sock andthem'edial portion of the supporter, taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as being specically applied to a certain type of foot and leg covering, it is not my desire or intention to thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope or utility of the improvement.

Referring to the drawing, the typical improved device shown therein as applied to a sock or stocking 6 comprises, in general, an elongated supporting element 'I formed of wire or other suitably resilient yet relatively stiff material looped at the ends 8, 9; an elongated pocket I0 or the like secured to the inner side wall of the sock 6 and open at the upper end, the pocket being adapted to receive the loop 9 of the supporting element 'I; and a disk-like fastening member II secured to the sock 6 above the pocket l as by stitches I2 and having an annular peripheral groove I3 formed for reception of the loop 8 of the supporting element 1.

The pocket I0 may be formed of cloth or the like and is preferably sewed along the sides and bottom to the sock as by stitches I4, thereby forming an abutment at its lower portion for the loop 9 of the supporting element 'I. Since the supporting element I is formed of wire or other suitably resilient material, the loop 8 may be readily sprung over the peripheral edge of the disk Il for seating within the groove I3 thereof and may likewise be readily disengaged from the disk Il. The pocket I may be located on the outside of the sock 6 but is preferably secured to the inner Wall for purposes of appearance and near the rear of the sock with the bottom thereof near the heel for purposes of comfort. The pocket I0 may, of course, be of considerably less depth than shown in the drawing, and means, other than the grooved disk Il as shown and described herein, may be utilized for detachably securing the upper end of the member l to the sock 6.

To utilize the improved supporter, it 1s merely necessary to insert the loop 9 longitudinally Within the pocket I 0 until the loop 9 rests on the abutment formed by the bottom oi the pocket as shown in Fig. 1 and thereafter snap the loop 8 over the periphery of the disk Il. The sock or stocking 6 is then maintained by the supporting member 'l in position on the Wearers leg without placing pressure on the leg. To remove the supporting element 1 from the sock 6, as for purposes of washing or the like, it is merely necessary to unsnap the element l longitudinally from Within the pocket I0.

From the foregoing detailed description, it is apparent that my present invention provides an improved sock supporter which is extremely simple in construction and which is moreover highly efficient in actual use. The pocket I 0 may be formed integral with the sock 0 at the factory or this pocket may thereafter be applied to the sock by sewing or the like. The supporting member or stay 1 may be quickly and easily applied to the sock and may likewise be quickly removed therefrom when desired; and this supporting member effectively retains the sock in position on the wearer-s leg without need for any encircling elastic band or bands which impair blood circulation and are uncomfortable. The improved supporting device provides positive nonslipping means for supporting the sock and may be entirely hidden on the interior of the sock. Obviously, means other than the peripherally grooved disk may be utilized for detachably securing the upper end of the member 1 to the sock, but the proposed means is simple and eincient. The device may obviously be manufactured of various suitable materials and is durable in construction and neat in appearance.

It should, of course, be understood that. any reference herein to a sock or stocking" is intended to include any flexible ankle and/or leg covering.

It should be understood that it is not desired or intended to limit this invention to the exact details of construction, or to the precise mode of use. herein shown and described, for various modi` cations Within the scope of the appended claim may occur to persons skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

I claim:

A supporter for a sock comprising, an elongated relatively rigid but somewhat resilient supporting member, said member having loops formed at the opposite ends thereof, at least one of said loops being expansible, a pocket carried by the sock, said pocket being of substantially the same length as said supporting member and terminating in a closed bottom near the heel of the sock and adapted to receive one looped end of said supporting member, and a disk secured to the sock above said pocket and near the upper open end of the sock, said disk being of somewhat larger outer diameter than the inner diameter of the expansible loop of said supporting member and being provided with a peripheral groove for receiving said expansible loop.

EARL SNEAD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS V Number Name Date 833,618 Murdock Oct. .16, 1906 1,806,963 Woods May 26, 1931 1,827,343 vWoods Oct. 13, 1931 2,034,897 Crane Mar. 24, 1936 

